A wiring harness includes a bundle of cables, and each cable can include multiple wires (each having a conductor 203—FIG. 2) therein. At least some known cables include at least one wire surrounded by a shielding layer 202 (FIG. 2) which is surrounded by a wire jacket or insulating member 201 (FIG. 2). While assembling a wiring harness, a portion of the insulating member 201 is removed, and a portion of the exposed shielding 202 is removed. In some cases the shielding 202 is smoothed down over the wire(s) (e.g., dead-ended applications) or folded back over the wire jacket or insulating member 201 (e.g., grounded applications).
Generally wire shielding is cut manually to avoid, for example, damage to the underlying wires. During cutting of the shielding an operator has to manually fan the shielding out, then utilize wire cutters to trim off segments of the shielding material while being careful not to damage the underling wires. The cut shielding is then manually smoothed down over the wire(s) or folded back over the wire jacket. This shielding cutting and folding process is slow, includes risk of an operator damaging the underlying wires and is not repeatable due to, for example, variations in operator technique.
Although some conventional wire stripping tools may exist, such as tools for use with cylindrical cables (e.g., coaxial cables) that have a filler to make the cross section of the cable round. At least in the aerospace industry, the filler is omitted from the cables for weight savings, leaving the cable with an irregular cross-sectional shape not suitable for use with the conventional wire stripping tools.